Ekuban made his first start since August in the Whites' victory over Barnsley on Saturday, having made a couple of substitute appearances in the games leading up to the Yorkshire derby.

And while he did not get on the scoresheet at Oakwell, his performance was incredibly encouraging and arguably proved one of the reasons why Leeds were able to secure a 2-0 win that takes them up to eighth in the Championship. Nevertheless, he refused to get carried away and assume that he had done enough to retain his spot for the Villans clash.

After Leeds' win over Barnsley, it would surely be no surprise if there were a number of fans who were keen to see Ekuban keep his place in the team as it was an extremely impressive display from the summer signing, as he displayed the kind of work-rate that the supporters have wanted to see from Pierre-Michel Lasogga, often defending from the front.

And with Villa in superb form right now, having a player leading the line who is not afraid to put the effort in when the opposition have the ball may perhaps give Thomas Christiansen's side a much better chance of bursting the Villans' bubble and following up the Barnsley win with another positive result.